Max Biaggi closed out the first qualifying session at Nurburgring with the fastest lap ahead of the World Superbike field on Friday. Outpacing Althea Ducati’s Carlos Checa by 0.149 seconds, Biaggi took provisional pole ahead of the championship leader despite wet track conditions.

“This morning we didn’t get a lot done due to the mixed track conditions, but after a month’s break the session was nevertheless useful and gave us the chance to get back into our stride," said Checa.

Yamaha’s Marco Melandri grabbed the third-fastest lap of the day, with Alstare Suzuki’s Michel Fabrizio recording fourth in the charts more than half a second behind Biaggi.

Yamaha’s Eugene Laverty placed fifth during Friday’s qualifying ahead of Liberty Racing’s Sylvain Guintoli. Castrol Honda’s Jonathan Rea returned to the series with the seventh-best time after recovering from numerous injuries sustained during a warm-up crash at the Misano Circuit in June. Supersonic Racing Ducati’s Maxime Berger posted eighth behind the Irishman, with Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes and BMW’s Leon Haslam rounding out the top-10 times on the first day.

Kawasaki’s Joan Lascorz and Pata Aprilia’s Noriyuki Haga both remained less than a second behind Biaggi despite finishing 11th and 13th respectively in the timesheets. Overall the session proved competitive as only 0.830 seconds separated the top-10 riders.

Parkalgar Honda’s Sam Lowes was the only Supersport rider able to dip below the two-minute mark on Friday. The Brit secured the fastest lap with a time of 1'59.771 to beat out his fellow countryman and current points leader, Chaz Davies, by 0.534 seconds. Kawasaki Motocard.com’s David Salom was third-fastest of the day after spending most of the session near the front. Harms Benjan Racing Honda’s Robbin Harms earned fourth in the charts and was the first rider to be more than a second behind Lowes. Meanwhile Hannspree Ten Kate Honda’s Florian Marino could only secure the seventh-best time and remains just three points behind Salom in the championship.

Parkalgar Honda's Sam Lowes was the only Supersport rider able to post a lap under the two-minute mark on Friday.